


Beyond Death

by CardboarianNights



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: 'no' stops something from happening for once, Alternate Universe - SCP Foundation, Angst, Dealing With Loss, Feels Train, M/M, Tentacle Monster - Freeform, by the researchers, coming back wrong?, consent is huge, no onscreen rape but there are hints of scientific probing that is dubious, not the tentacle monster ironically, not your usual tentacle monster story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8580874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CardboarianNights/pseuds/CardboarianNights
Summary: Gabriel Reyes is a senior security guard about to get his promotion before a coworker throws him to the wolves in a containment breach at the SCP Foundation. He ends up becoming SCP-7600's cellmate in the strangest recorded relationship between a human and a tentacle monster who can read minds.Not your average tentacle monster fic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the other SCP fic on here for Overwatch so I wanted to give my own take on it with a tentacle monster fic I've been wanting to write forever.
> 
> Note: Please read the tags. 
> 
> I did not use the 'rape/noncon' tag because I honestly feel that medical/research noncon that I depicted in the fic barely touches that line and the fic touches on issues around consent 9not just the sexual kind either). The worst that happens to Gabriel is the researchers take cellular samples out of his rectum but it's just implied in the story not outright stated like I'm writing right here.
> 
> There is no tentacle rape or rape of any kind. The monster does stop when told.

Many things came to Gabriel Reyes’ mind as he was forcibly shoved out of the safety room with the researches he and Parkers were suppose to protect during a containment breach. One: He should have known Parkers was a jealous fuckwit. Two: He should have known he hated his guts, no matter how nice Gabriel tried to pretend to be for the sakes of working together. And Three: He was going to die a horrible death as the safe room doors locked up.

 

Gabriel Reyes was recruited out of the military once he served his time during the Omnic Crisis and was approached by a recruiter from the SCP Foundation to work for them for an amazing amount of money and benefits to work as a guard. Something that was mentioned during the on-boarding to the place was the fact that if you wanted to live for more than a week you would get half of that money in cash and slap it in the face of the researchers to figure out what the fuck you were guarding for the day. Reyes was lucky enough to learn to bribe from his trainer in private after he got the sneaking suspicion something wasn't quite right with the job rather quickly.

 

He was lightly armored and only carrying a semi-automatic rifle as he tore down the hallways, trying to find an open safe room he could dive into as he heard the unlucky fuckwits trying to shoot whatever they were guarding before their blood curling screams filled the halls. 

 

It was hard to believe that a containment breach happened while he was escorting the researchers with Parkers to the observation chamber for SCP-7600, a keter-class that was brought in two weeks ago. You think those fuckwits would be more careful in handling a violent mass of tentacles but nooooo! Gabriel slammed his fist on another door that would not budge, occupied or malfunctioning, he didn't know what was worse.

 

Then the whistling started. Gabriel’s body froze, disobeying him and locking his feet in place in front of the door. 

 

Normally, one wouldn't be afraid of a slow moving mass of tentacles but of course the foundation picked up a frightening variation of the breed from god-knows-where that fucking whistled it’s prey to draw it in. Some techno babble about it being able to read minds and pick out music that it’s victim heard in order to call it in like a fucking siren in the story books. Even if you heard a song once and forgot you ever heard it, you would still be drawn in like a moth to the flame.

 

Gabriel guarded that thing’s room maybe three times before it started whistling to him, then he was swiftly taken off the rotation for that particular block. The only reason it was not destroyed was because the whistling could only lull in one person at a time and Gabriel was one of the first ones to guard it since he was a senior guard at this point. Containment breaches did not usually happen on his watch and he trained his men well in that regard that the fuck ups are never under his leadership. 

 

But, now it didn't matter. He was going to die.

 

His lips puckered together, self-preservation forfeit from his body’s control, and he was forced to whistle back. Loudly. 

 

The whistling from SCP-7600 in the distance paused, likely hearing Gabriel's involuntary response to it’s call. 

 

Tears rolled down Gabriel's cheeks as he tried to move, shoving his arms at the steel door to try to knock himself to the floor but his body remained firmly in place. The creature let out a series of higher pitched chirps and Gabriel responded with a lower version of the call in his response. 

 

He could hear something massive sliding over the concrete, like a giant sack being dragged. 

 

The whistling got louder.

 

Gabriel was sobbing and cursing himself for being so selfish. Being so selfish for having lived on after the war. 

 

This was karma.

 

\--

 

A loud buzzer sounded in the bare, concrete room and the heavy steel door was opened. Gabriel rose from the pale colored tendrils he had been napping on, gently pushed aside the ones that were covering him for warmth and slid off to the concrete floor. SCP-7600 made a curious noise, a warm ‘hrm’ that was similar to cat’s when they were suddenly awoken from their sleep by someone they knew. Gabriel turned around and looked at the fleshy tendril monster as it laid still.

 

“Just getting breakfast. I’ll let you know what the schedule for today will be like always, 76.” He reassured the creature before turning to walk over to the researchers and armed guards that were escorting them. 

 

The researcher pushed in a cart with a fresh set of blue hospital scrubs that were Gabriel’s only outfit selection since he was brought into the room by SCP-7600 three days ago, a gallon of chilled drinking water, and a plate of eggs, toast, a small stack of pancakes on a tray with a thermos filled with coffee (he hoped) on the top. Gabriel was about to go around the lead researcher on SCP-7600 but the man promptly slid over so he was directly in the way. He looked at the lead researcher in annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“Breakfast will be distributed to you when the medical examination and daily interview is complete, Mr. Reyes.” The man smiled politely, a very fake smile Gabriel assumed but whatever, he was hungry. 

 

A series of four high-pitched chirps came from SCP-7600, visibly startling the guards as they raised their guns. Gabriel and the lead researcher just exchanged curious glances before looking back at SCP-7600, who was moving it’s huge flesh tendrils to the front of it’s lumpy center, likely preparing itself to move forward towards Gabriel and the group.

 

“It’s fine, 76! I’m happy! They brought me food!” Gabriel happily yelled back to 76, satisfying the creature for now as it relaxed its tendrils from hearing Gabriel respond back with a pleasant voice. 76 let out a pleased, low-pitched trill that made Gabriel turn and smirk at the lead researcher as he looked back at him. “We want to keep me happy, right?”

 

“We’ll make the process as quick and painless as possible then.” He reached down to pick up Gabriel’s sea green pair of scrubs on the bottom shelf of the cart and gestured for Gabriel to follow him out into the hallway, past the open, heavy steel doors. 

 

Gabriel groaned as he was going to be forced through another invasive medical examine like yesterday and followed the researchers through the door, especially that cart being pushed by one of the junior researchers that had his breakfast on it. Heavy slaps of flesh on the concrete came from behind Gabriel alerted him that 76 was moving towards the steel bulkhead door after him and he quickly turned around hold his hands out frantically to stop it in its tracks.

 

“No, no, buddy! It’s like yesterday! You remember yesterday, right? I came right back after being led out! You’ll wait for me, right?” Gabriel chuckled nervously as the guards in the hallway were joined by the ones escorting the researchers and he was pretty sure a fucking breach would happen if the situation escalated.

 

76 was easily a good two feet taller than Gabriel and had tendrils that were almost that length as well sprouting out from all over its huge mass, all very muscular and deadly if it's buttons were pressed but the massive creature came to a stop when Gabriel touched one of the tendrils he had extended to him. It made a sound similar to the one it made earlier, that confused cat sounding blurt. Gabriel’s heart was pounding in his chest as he racked his brain on how to explain to the currently docile keter-class monster that him leaving the room wasn't a bad things. For a thing that had elements of mind reading in it, 76 wasn't very good at picking up hints.

 

Or worse: It knew exactly why Gabriel didn't WANT to go with the researchers and was trying to prevent the uncomfortable acts from happening by coming with.

 

Gabriel swallowed hard as he felt eyes and guns trained indirectly on his back as 76 raised a tendril gently wrap around Gabe’s arm. He brought a shaky hand up to gently pat the warm flesh tendril reassuringly. “I’m fine, 76.” Gabriel tried to gently pull his arm away from the appendage but 76 let out a low rumble, and he quickly turned to see the lead researcher approaching them. The man immediately halted a good ten feet away from them and smiled as if not threatened by a keter-class SCP that made good on threats before.

 

“Sorry. I just wanted to know if we should give you two a few minutes or not. Can't have the door open too long, you know.”

 

Right. Security protocols.

 

His stomach and bladder were protesting rather loudly now, and everything he needed to be comfortable was outside of the door now. Gabriel pushed the tendril off as he pulled away and he managed to get free, oddly enough. 

 

“I’ll be right back. I promise.” He reassured 76 and hurried off with the lead researcher, the bulkheads slamming into place to seal the creature inside while he dealt with the monsters that walked on two legs on this side of the door.

 

\--

 

Gabriel could hear the vicious snarls and enraged slams on the metal that held 76 in its containment cell while the researchers took all the samples they wanted off of Gabriel's nude body. They curtained off the hallway after he was allowed to relieve himself, samples taken of his urine and stool as well before the interview was conducted to determine how sane he still was being locked in an empty room with an SCP. 76 was rather docile during that part, and even lightly purring against the metal wall, a rather soothing noise that reminded Gabriel of Jack’s cat when it laid down with them at night to sleep. Then they were scraping off cells from fucking everywhere and he had to lay down on a cot and let them do it or they would classify him as an SCP as well.

 

That’s when 76 grew violent. The creature was slamming on the reinforced wall instead of the bulkhead like the previous two times it breached into the facility: an idea by one of the researchers to keep Gabriel closer to a place 76 could lash out on with less risk of getting free. Redirecting its anger to a place that was built to handle the tantrum by making it think it could get to him faster through the reinforced wall then the door.

 

Thinking the thought didn't seem to reach 76 on the other side as he continued to thrash hard at the wall. 

 

The noise wasn't helping Gabriel take his mind off the probing of the researchers, it did the opposite because he was terrified of going back into the room with 76 that hostile. The previous two breaches, where he was taken to the actual medical clinic on-site, 76 killed a lot of guards as he rampaged through the facility but he didn't have that kind of an outlet now. 

 

They redressed Gabriel in his new scrubs and made him stand alone with his hands on the handle of the cart, knuckles white from how hard he was clutching it. A fucking firing squad was behind him to stress him out to the point of crying as 76 was growling and slamming his tendrils against the bulkhead but not as violently as before, not that was any bit reassuring to Gabriel. The researchers were up in their observation room, likely watching him cry like a baby as the bulkhead doors slowly pulled apart through the security cameras. 

 

He was going to die. 

 

Gabriel was going to die hungry and humiliated by the most sadistic fucks in the world.

 

Flesh tendrils immediately came out when there was enough room and Gabriel flinched as he felt death come for him. There was several muffled screams and the frantic discharge of semi-automatic rifles from behind him. All Gabriel did was hold his breath, body completely tense as there was the sickening sound of heavy objects being tossed around while he was being inched forward by the inconsistent pressure on the entirety of his back. He moved with the pressure, too chicken shit to open his eyes to know that he was likely walking into 76’s hidden maw or something to get fucking eaten until there was a loud bang that rattled the concrete flooring.

 

Then suddenly there was silence aside from the sound of heavy tendrils being dragged over the concrete.

 

This was it. 

 

He was dead. 

 

Pain was coming!

 

Eventually…?

 

Warm tendrils made themselves present as the tips rolled over the back of his hands that were painfully holding onto the cart handle and gently rubbed back and forth over them. 

 

Hesitantly, Gabriel opened one tear-swollen eye to see 76, just a mass of fair-skin toned tendrils. No circular maw with rows of teeth that went into the back of its throat or anything.

 

Just the creature that had took Gabriel in and made him his companion.

 

Gabriel sniffed hard, both eyes now open and free flowing with tears as he fell to his kness, overwhelmed by fucking everything this situation was throwing at him. The withholding of food, water, and even toilet privileges just because some creature was fucking lonely as shit and happen to drag him back. He was a fucking senior member of the guard and was going to be fucking promoted then all of a sudden he was nothing more than a toy to control a keter-class SCP. 

 

Tendrils gently coiled around him, barely touching his body, as if afraid that he would react negatively to contact, and 76 purred soothing like he did before. The tips rubbing the back of his hands continued to stimulate them, moving to run back and forth over the knuckles as Gabriel slowly eased his grip. 

 

Is Stockholm Syndrome at play here or is everyone at the facility really worse than a fucking keter-class SCP?

 

“I’m so tired. I just woke up and I’m already so tired.” Gabriel chuckled with a shaky voice as his entire body trembled. He released his hold on the cart handle let himself be picked up in the tendrils, feeling completely limps in its grip as 76 brought him over to the main body to lay him down as it relaxed into the floor. The cart was dragged over too, awkwardly maneuvered by the tendrils as it tried to make sense of its movement capabilities without knocking over the stuff on top, recognizing it as being important to Gabriel, perhaps? It took a bit of time but 76 finally managed to bring it over and lift it up delicately so Gabriel could take what he wanted as he reclined on the tendril bundle he was placed on. 

 

As tired as he was, Gabriel knew he wouldn't likely be able to heat up the food later and lifted the plastic tray up to lay it across his lap before grabbing the coffee. 76 set the cart gently back to the ground and gingerly pushed it away enough so it could spread out more comfortably on the concrete. Gabriel got to work on eating the cold food, keep the sealed thermos inside of his scrub top so it wouldn't fall to the ground if 76 shifted a bit like he normally did. He was still upset, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes from time to time as he ate the unseasoned eggs and frigid buttered toast.

 

They didn't even give him ham or any kind of meat or even pill supplements. 

 

Did they really expect him to die today? They gave him much better stuff yesterday along with vitamins.

 

He finished his meal far too quickly and just flat out tossed the tray to the ground, startling 76 a bit. Gabriel mumbled an apology and gently ran a hand over one of the tendrils he was leaning against to his right. 76 let out a low whine, sounding more similar to a sigh than a whine, and relaxed once more as Gabriel pulled out his thermos from his shirt to drink his hot coffee. 

 

At least they did one thing decent today. Not that it helped him think any better of them.

 

It took a while for 76 to realize Gabriel wanted the cart pulled back over, the creature likely exhausted from its tantrum earlier so Gabe slid off the tendrils to go place his thermos back on top along with the tray and plastic silverware from earlier. If this was to be their home then he might as well keep it clean, right? He walked back over to 76 with that somber thought in mind and climbed back up to his spot to curl up. A few tendrils came up and laid over him as he snuggled the side of his face into the smooth tendril that was mostly supporting him in the bundle. 

 

Gabriel was warm and safe, for now. So long as he stayed in 76’s good grace.

 

\--

 

The problem with being stuck in a room with no windows or clocks was that you couldn't tell shit for time. Gabriel spent most of the time sleeping on 76, running laps in the room or flat out making due with the shit they had in the room to entertain themselves. You know you’re bored when you're trying to teach your flesh monster friend how to throw a lunch tray like a frisby. He bet the researches were getting a kick out of that shit but he didn't give much of a fuck anymore.

 

He was starving and needed to piss like a race horse when the bulkheads opened that said a quick ‘I’ll be right back’ before darting out into the hallway. 76 stayed put in the room since there was no contamination breach alerts to signal that he followed Gabe out into the hallway and made a dart straight to the bathroom to relieve himself.

 

Gabriel felt rather guilty after coming out of the bathroom, wanting to know if he could at least get a shower or something after, especially considering 76 didn't get one either and there was the issue of sleeping on dried blood. Or at least putting up with the smell. 

 

The bulkheads were shut tight as Gabriel went back down the hall, noting the lack of personnel and privacy curtains set up, and the lead researched waiting for him, arms behind his back with a smile on his face. Gabriel resisted the urge to scowl at the man since he could kick him back into the cell without food if he wanted. He came to a halt in front of the lead researcher and the man simply gestured for Gabriel to follow him up the set of stairs past the area where they had portable lab equipment set up along with a cot, his little torture chamber.

 

They climbed up two sets of stairs before the researcher pressed his palm to a scanner by a heavy metal door and it slid open to reveal an observation deck with a long, one-way window in the back. There was several wooden tables scattered about with chairs and a wall that had a multitude of monitors attached to the security cameras in the cell. Gabriel followed the man inside, the door sliding shut behind him, and was walked to a table that had a huge variety of party platters scattered about it, completely untouched and fresh.

 

“Feel free to dish up whatever you like, Mr. Reyes.” The lead researcher smiled as he gestured to the table spread of hot and cold foods scattered about the table. “Over to your right is a door that will lead you to a private bathroom and shower where we also have a fresh pair of scrubs for you to change into along with a bag of toiletries to freshen up.”

 

Gabriel looked at the man skeptically. “What do you want?”

 

The man smiled happily but Gabriel could see half of the researchers in the room observing him and the lead while typing away on their holopads in their hands. “We’ve reassessed our treatment of you these past few days and we wanted to express our condolences for your trying time. Today, we will be allowing you to freely roam the observation deck with us and make use of the facilities provided so you feel more comfortable as we research alternatives to your containment with SCP-7600.” He announced rather pleasantly. 

 

“How’s 7- I mean, SCP-7600 doing right now?” Gabriel asked curiously as he gazed towards the one-way window.

 

“Let’s go have a look.” The lead researcher led Gabriel over to the window and he was surprised to see several D-rank personnel in the 15 x 15 x 15 meter room with some researchers with 76. “As you can see, SCP-7600 is still docile at the moment even without your presence in the room. Our current theory is that it is tracking your location and current mood through telepathy and see’s no reason for hostilities as long as you are at ease. As such, we will be adjusting SCP-7600’s containment protocol to account for your comfort as well until we can figure out a way to contain SCP-7600 alone with minimum contact on your side.”

 

That explains this whole brown nosing thing they got going on now. They’re treating both of them as SCP-7600 rather than Gabriel as just an expendable D-rank now. Hense why they see it necessary to keep Gabriel comfortable as opposed to ‘alive and functioning’ like they did before. It didn’t sit well with him. Not one fucking bit but he didn’t have a choice in this did he?

 

His eyes watched as several braver D-ranks ventured within physical contact distance of 76’s tendrils and the SCP merely pushed them back, a light push against their chests with a tendril to tell them to bug off. Gabriel smiled at that approvingly. So long as the researchers and their D-ranks didn’t do anything to harm 76 then he would be comfortable with them interacting with it. 

 

The lead researcher handed gabriel a plastic plate filled with warm and cold finger food like cold cut subs and a variety of cheeses to start. It all looked so good that Gabe quickly picked up the square cut of a sub and started munching down.

 

“Thanks.” Gabriel spoke after swallowing, still holding a healthy amount of suspicion to the researcher as he ate.

 

“It’s no problem.” The man pleasantly spoke as he hand waved. “Our plan is to have you out here with us for about an hour or two unless SCP-7600 wants you back in sooner. All the facilities, food, and companionship we can offer you is available until then. All we ask is you do not leave the observation deck during this time as we will bring you anything you request for your comfort of mind.”

 

Gabriel thought about his apartment and his pet rat, Ringo, at that moment and frowned. “Is there someone who can go to my apartment and make sure my rat is taken care of? Pretty sure you guys have access to my locker anyways, so might as well get someone over there so my pet doesn’t suffer.”

 

“Not a problem. Would you like your rat relocated to the observation area with it’s cage and other needs?” He asked politely.

 

“Yes, and my guitar too? It should be in its case by the bed.”

 

“By all means, these are simple requests. We’ll have bought the rat and guitar relocated to the facility by the morning, Mr. Reyes.” The lead researcher reassured Gabriel, finally helping to put his mind at ease a bit to know Ringo would be here. “Anything else?”

 

“My music player is in my locker along with my gaming device. I assume you won’t let me have my phone so could I at least have those?”

 

The lead researcher turned to look at on of the guard and told the woman the location, and number of his locker so she could go and retrieve the items in question. She probably would get the master key for the lockers from the security center on the way to the guards’ barracks anyways. He lived off site from the facility in company housing so it wasn’t as if the Foundation had to worry about a security leak while also giving more senior staff some sense of freedom away from the facility. 

 

“All items and personal effects will be kept here in the observation deck. We’ll set you up with a small safe so you can feel more at ease leaving them here when you go back into the containment cell. We can tune the cell to play relaxing music over the speakers as well, if you wish. Assuming this does not trigger a rage state in SCP-7600, of course.”

 

Gabriel nodded his head as he ate the final tomato slice of his plate and looked back at the spread over the table enviously. “Can I?”

 

The lead researcher nodded his head. “Go right ahead and dish up. You may bring food and water into the containment cell with you as well but we ask that all personal effects stay up here in the observation deck for the safety of SCP-7600 and yourself.”

 

Gabriel piled on plenty of cold and warm meat cuts along with a hefty amount of vegetables to make up for his poor diet in the morning. “So, what about my rat? Could I introduce SCP-7600 to it?” He asked casually, knowing that the answer would likely be ‘no’ but wanted to hear the reasoning anyways.

 

The lead research shook his head. “While we are not opposed to introducing mammals and laboratory rodents to SCPs, your pet has ample opportunities to be introduce zoonotic diseases to SCP-7600 and also we rather avoid situations that could result in a high level of stress placed on you, like SCP-7600 accidentally killing your beloved rat.” He explained reasonably. “Any other curiosities on your mind?”

 

“Yeah. One thing I observed is that SCP-7600 makes noises similar to a cat I once owned. The sounds are almost identical and I was wondering if that’s intentional.”

 

Immediately Gabriel could hear frantic tapping on the holopads, reminding him that he is a research subject now as well. The lead researcher hummed a brought a hand up to scratch his chin in thought.

 

“Curious. How long has SCP-7600 been making noises similar to your cat?”

 

“Probably the morning after I was brought into its containment cell. I woke up to hearing SCP-7600 purring. I didn’t think anything of it at first but then it started making other noises in similar situations like my cat. Like when SCP-7600 is doing what I assume is ‘resting’, if I drop something then it makes a noise like a startled cat. When I mean ‘startled’ I don’t mean bouncing up on its legs and hissing but more like when it's sleeping happily and you touch it gently enough to startle it awake to make a sort of hybrid purr/meow.”

 

The lead researcher looked at Gabriel blankly before looking over at his little posse. One of the researchers turned a video on to their holopad and showed them a recording from the internet of a cat doing the ‘cat activation noise’ like the video title suggested. “Oh! I have birds in my home so I wasn’t quite sure what you were referring to since I never owned a cat. What an adorable sound that is. I recognized SCP-7600 purred similar to that of a cat but that is quite something else.” He chuckled fondly. “How interesting that it is mimicking sounds you associate with a beloved pet. We shall most definitely be tracking the noises it makes more closely from now on since it is not random as we once thought.”

 

Gabriel nodded his head and carried his plate over to a water cooler, noting there was a plastic box cooler on the far end of the table like the ones you took with you to keep your beer cold on summer outings. He guessed it was big enough to hold those gallon jugs of water that they sent with him previous times into the containment cell so he always had access to fresh water. Maybe they just brought it in with the food so he could take the water whenever 76 got tired of the researchers in their cell? Sounded reasonable. He took his food and cup of water back over to the observation window and set his plate down on the table next to him to watch the researchers interact with 76.

 

He thought it was interesting to see the D-rank personnel trying to recreate what Gabriel was doing to ward off boredom after his nap in the morning. The D-ranks were all wearing sea green scrubs like Gabriel was, dark-skinned like Gabriel was, and pretty similar in body structure like Gabriel was now that he actually looked. Was this what the researcher meant by getting SCP-7600 to stay contained without Gabriel’s assistance? What the fuck was wrong with these pricks.

 

One of the D-ranks was doing laps around the perimeter of the cell while the others and the researchers spread out to observe 76. 

 

76 wasn’t moving from its reclined position on the floor. Gabriel resisted the urge to snicker when one of the D-ranks tried to play frisbee with 76 with a plastic tray.

 

“It’s all worth replicating.” The lead researcher remarks as he rejoins Gabriel by the window. “We want to understand SCP-7600 as much as possible and if that means trying out experiments that fail then it’s worth doing.”

 

“So, let’s say ultimately everything else fails and there’s no one else but me that can keep SCP-7600 in its containment cell. What is the foundation going to do if and when I die?” Gabriel asked quietly, not liking the question one bit tearing at him in the back of his mind but curiosity got the better of him.

 

“That’s above my own security clearance, unfortunately. I just report everything I can and hope that you will be able to live some sense of normalcy if all reasonable attempts to sever SCP-7600’s emotional reliance on you fails.” The research looked at Gabriel with solid conviction. This man really was intent on giving back Gabriel’s freedom after all? 

 

The speakers in the room drew Gabriel’s attention as he heard a high-pitched trill. He looked down through the one-way window and saw 76 dragging itself towards the direction of the window that was a lot higher up then the SCP would be able to reach. 76 was calm and patiently reclined against the wall as the team in the cell halted all activities to study the SCP’s behavior. 

 

The walls of the observation deck vibrated rhythmically as 76’s purr reverberated through the metal that separated the containment cell and the deck where Gabriel was at. He could hear the purrs through the audio the speakers were catching from the security cameras in the room and Gabriel felt himself relax at the sounds.

 

It was like Josie never passed away from old age five years ago…

 

“I’m going to go take a shower and freshen up. You think we could do the same for SCP-7600?” Gabriel asked curiously and the lead researcher hummed in thought.

 

“I’ll have to think about it. For now you can feel free to use the showers and change scrubs however many times you would like when we let you out for meals. Would that work?”

 

“Sure. If you can do something about the smell in the cell then.”

 

“I’ll look into it but I make no promises.”

 

Gabriel nodded his head and finished eating the food on his plate before going over to the private room to undress and shower. It was so nice to feel warm water on his skin and spent quite some time scrubbing himself clean before rinsing off. They were nice enough to offer a beard trimmer in the grooming kit provided so he fixed up his beard to be presentable like always. There was a pair of plastic flipflops with his new change of scrubs, all of it a deep maroon color as he slipped it on after applying deodorant. At least he wouldn’t have to walk barefoot on the floor of the containment cell anymore.

 

When he stepped out of the bathroom, completely refreshed, he noted that there was a heavy looking safe on the floor near the one-way window and his requested items from his locker in plastic baggies on the table where he put his food down earlier. The other researchers were now eating from the platters on the table, likely to not waste the food as he walked over to the window to see how 76 was doing.

 

There was blood everywhere and 76’s tendril were coated in it.

 

“What. What the hell happened?!” Gabriel asked as the lead researcher and his assistance were running back security footage on the many monitors the lined the wall to Gabriel’s left. They all seemed rather calm considering the slaughter that happened down in the cell. He was only gone twenty minutes maximum in the bathroom and had been on the observation deck for thirty minutes without 76 lashing out violently.

 

“We lined the private bathroom’s walls and the inside of the doors with lead to see if it would disrupt the telepathic transmission and clearly it was a success. We’ll be removing the lead from the walls and doors so this incident does not happen again.” 

 

Gabriel balled his fists tightly at his sides as he glared at the lead researcher and his team as they continued to study the footage of 76 violently slaughtering the junior researchers and D-ranks in the containment cell. There was even footage of Gabriel entering the bathroom but no camera views from inside the bathroom from what he could see but he had a feeling they just deactivated the feed playback of that for now. The violent rampage ended the moment the doors to the bathroom slid open and Gabriel stepped out in higher spirits.

 

“Don’t you EVER do an experiment like that without my knowledge again.” Gabriel growled. “Or maybe a certain SCP will learn just where the weakest spots on the doors are. ALL of them.”

 

The lead researcher spoke to his assistants before turning around in his chair to face Gabriel. “So, you are asking us to study SCP-7600 in a way that will not lead to the loss of life or that SCP-7600 will not be provoked into a rage state, Mr. Reyes?” 

 

“Are you fucking serious?! Neither of them! Why are you even thinking of-”

 

“Do you want to live the rest of your life and possibly longer with SCP-7600? You ARE an integral part of his containment protocol unless an alternative can be supplied. We do what is absolutely necessary to keep the world free of SCPs like SCP-7600, Mr. Reyes, so that more tragedies are not repeated, so the world can sleep safely knowing that the ‘monsters under the bed’ are just figments of the imagination and not know how close we all live to the razer’s edge of oblivion. We’re not here to torture anyone or any SCP meaninglessly, death is always assured when dealing with keter-class SCPs and you know this well, Mr. Reyes. I am trying to help you and SCP-7600 at the end of the day by doing this.”

 

The two men stared each other down but Gabriel was quick to look away. “Fine. Just do a better job next time. I’m going to need a lot of towels before I go back in to clean up the mess.”

 

“Not necessary. We have clean up crews on the wa-”

 

“I still want ten full-sized bath towels and the biggest, mobile, container we have filled with warm water. No chems in it. Got it?” 

 

The lead researcher nodded his head. “By all means. The cooler at the end of the table contains your drinking water, by the way. One of my assistants will escort you down to the bulkhead.” He spoke before turning back to review the footage again.

 

Gabriel locked his items in the safe then grabbed the handle of the cooler to take it off the table and followed the researcher waiting for him by the steel door that lead to the staircase. 

 

\--

 

Gabriel was in the forefront of the clean up crew, the only one not wearing a hazard suit and pushing his cart loaded with towel into the containment cell. The others hung back, waiting for 76 to follow Gabriel away from the entrance as he casually pushed his cart around the bloody tendrils that shifted en masse to follow him. Happy chirps came somewhere from the center where all the tendrils branched off from as 76 followed Gabriel to a cleaner corner of the containment cell. It was like Josie was following him after he and Jack got home from work at the base. She was so small and lively then. 

 

Gabriel shook the thoughts from his mind and came to a halt a good few feet from the walls in the corner so he could turn back and look at the bloody mess 76 was. The plastic tub filled with warm water was being pushed by another worker and they came to a stop two feet away from 76, obviously terrified for even getting this close to a keter-class SCP. Gabriel thanked them and carefully stepped over 76’s tendrils to get to the water cart with a bath towel under his arm. He looked at the water and put a finger in it to see how warm it was; a bit on the hot side but should be fine. He dunked the towel into the water and strained it out before getting to work on wiping down each tendril while the other workers cleaned up the bashed in bodies. 76 didn't tear them up this time, but it still looked like the SCP tossed them around like ragdolls and he wasn't sure which was a worse way to go.

 

76 let Gabriel manipulate its tendrils however Gabriel wanted to. It even rolled the cart of towels over to him when he thought about getting up from the floor and thanked 76 for its thoughtfulness with a smile. Three squeaky clean tendrils later, Gabriel had a raised tendril chair to sit on so he was leveled with the tub and 76 brought the bloodied tendrils to him to be cleaned right over the tub. It seemed to understand that Gabriel was helping it and if the flesh tendrils were like human skin then he knew that it must feel good to 76 as well to get the filth off with warm water.

 

Hell, it soon slipped the soiled tendrils in its and took a towel off the pile to scrub itself along with Gabe, making quite a bit of a mess as it splashed around. He was likely going to need another shower himself later but not before the lead was taken out. Gabriel rather wash himself in the sink down the with cold water than willingly walk back into a rage-inducing situation with 76 again, even without people in the cell. 76 was happily scrubbing itself along with Gabriel while the clean up guys kept shooting glances over their shoulders as they mopped and decontaminated the floor with strong-smelling chemicals. He wondered if 76 would like skin lotion since just washing with water would dry his own skin out too. Gabriel doubted the Foundation would spare enough money to get them a cement truck loaded with Aveeno on a whim.

 

The clean up gang finished up well before Gabriel and 76 did. It was a such a massive task to clean the massive SCP, especially with all the old grime caked to it along with the blood, that his arms were about to fall off when he was done. He dropped the last towel into the murky water with the rest of the ones they used to clean 76 and sighed as he fell back into the clean tendrils that were massaging Gabriel’s back halfway through the process. 76 gingerly moved the cart and tub aside, reaching under the cart to grab the cooler with a tendril before pulling both it and Gabriel close to its center as it moved away from the wall to the center of the room.

 

Gabriel rolled onto his belly as he nestled into the tendrils wrapped around like a warm blanket in the cool room; He was positively beat from cleaning. “I’m bringing out the hose next time you get dirty.” 

 

76 let's out a curious trill, making Gabriel grumble as he nuzzles the side of his face into the flesh supporting his head. 

 

“Shush. No back talk.”

 

76 settles down in the center of the room and reclines back comfortably after adjusting the placement of its tendrils so that it wouldn't shift the tendrils wrapped around Gabriel for warmth as he started drifting off. He heard the sound of the cooler being set on the ground, hopefully not upside down but he could deal with warm water if 76 knocks it over and spills all the ice out. So long as the cap holds on the water jugs he would be fine.

 

The bright lights in the room dimmed some and Gabriel heard soft, classical music being played through the speakers, mostly light piano stuff. 76 didn't react to either of the changes in the room environment but Gabriel was certainly going to give the assholes on the observation deck a piece of his mind for doing experiments without forewarning him, especially when he was being held in said SCP’s tendrils. He didn't want to compare 76 to a wild animal but it was that mentality that kept him alive for all these years in the Foundation.

 

76 began to lightly purr, completely relaxed and at ease with the changes or at least Gabriel was relaxed enough to not give a fuck to prompt it to be anything but calm. Gabriel felt warm and safe in 76’s tendrils, the exact opposite of how he should be but 76 has had many occasions to kill him but never did so that was that. Making purring sounds like Josie certainly helped ease his mind, reminding him of nicer times before the war when Josie would sleep in-between Jack and him, her content purrs helping him fall asleep every night. The situation was anything but close to that but at least he could pretend for a moment that Josie and Jack were still alive and with him. 

 

He drifted off and had dreams of seeing an adorable black kitten on base that he could not resist picking up to cuddle.

 

\--

 

“ALERT. THERE HAS BEEN A CONTAINMENT BREACH.” 

 

Alarms were blaring and red alert lights swirling in the room as 76 and Gabriel woke up. The robotic announcement played over and over again as Gabriel tried to quickly get his bearings by locating the steel bulkheads so he knew exactly where they were in the cell. The massive door was thankfully sealed since containment breach warnings only played in the sector and adjacent sectors where it happened and it wasn't 76 dragging him out of the cell to cause the alert.

 

76’s tendrils moved anxiously, likely responding to Gabriel's feelings of fear, and knowing it might have to prepare for a fight. It held Gabriel close to it but left its grip lose enough so Gabriel could look around, eyes glancing at shadows in the room in fear of them being worse than just the revolving alert lights casting onto 76’s shifting tendrils. They were in a containment cell so theoretically Gabriel was in one of the safest places to be in a breach, especially with a giant tendril monster that was invested in Gabriel's survival if the previous breaches 76 made were to be believed.

 

Gabriel just hoped that whatever got loose couldn't go through walls and their front door stays fucking closed.

 

“We’re okay, Buddy. I’m okay. You got me right here, right?” Gabriel gently patted 76’s tendrils that coiled protectively around him from the chest down. 76 wasn't convinced, making a threatening sounding grow noise like a tiger would make underwater. The tendrils out on the floor in front of them that faced the door slither back and forth to mimic snakes and Gabriel guesses that would be a rather threatening looking sight to see for an intruder.

 

After a good ten minutes of standing, Gabriel gently pushed to uncoil the tendrils so he could sit down, letting 76 recoil the tendrils around him securely in the new position. He was still tired and aching from the work earlier. If there was a clock around he could figure out if he slept for ten minutes before the alert or four hours. 76 continued to threaten the shadows around them and the door with his gurgling, low-pitched growls and Gabriel wasn't even going to try to call his attack dog off while the alert was active.

 

They might be sitting here for another minute under the alert or ten hours if one of the more difficult SCPs got out. He reclined back and just relaxed since he was fucked anyways if 76 couldn't protect him since he didn't have armor or a gun, not that those helped anyways. He just wished he had a radio so he could get status updates and know exactly what broke out along with it’s location.

 

The alarm shut off and the lights came back on, leaving Gabriel with an audible ring in his ears as he pushed the tendrils forward so he could sit up. He brought his fingers to his ears to rub the insides with his fingers and watched as the door opened up. The lead researcher walked in alone and the doors closed behind him as he walked over to them, holopad in his hand. 76 had been docile for a while before the alert dropped but it didn't make an effort to move or vocalize as the lead researcher stepped over its resting tendrils on the floor.

 

“Sorry bout that. I’ll have the engineers adjust alert volume levels for this cell so you don't have to deal with possible permanent hearing loss next time!” He yelled up to Gabriel. “Anyways, it was just a lucid-class that got out. No damage done to the facility or injuries. I thought you might like to hear that bit.”

 

“Did you guys get the lead out of the walls? I want to shower again.” Gabriel groaned as he had to put up with the constant ringing in his ears.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Did you put something else in the walls to test his telepathy again?”

 

“No. Cold turkey methods won't work in your case so those methods are off the table.” 

 

Gabriel pushed the tendrils off him and climbed down from the nest he was in. “I’ll break your nose if you’re lying or playing off technicalities.”

 

The lead researcher chuckled fondly in amusement. “Go right ahead if you find me lying, Mr. Reyes.”

 

\--

 

Gabriel was ecstatic to see his custom six feet high rat condo in the observation deck when he was woken up for breakfast, on top of the news they wouldn't prob him anymore. He was so happy that he sprung for a deluxe-sized water bottle because Ringo, his white and black dumbo rat, was eating up a storm from not having food for three days. Ringo would have likely croaked if she didn't have that water bottle keeping her going; what a champ.

 

He started cleaning out the bottom of her cage since they brought the stuff from his apartment plus another bag of each item from the pet store. The fleece hammocks needed to be washed and replaced so he only took the dirtiest ones down since he didn't have any spares to rotate in. Completely forgot about that detail when he wrote down a list of things for the agents to pick up. Maybe he could convince the researchers to give him old blankets they didn't want anymore from their homes.

 

He got up with the square cloths and went into the bathroom, leaving the door open just in case and stripped down to shower, leaving the hammocks in the sink while tossing the scrubs into the designated hamper. Gabriel was happy that Ringo made it through. He finally was spared the death of his loved ones for once. For now.

 

Gabriel washed up quickly, wanting to spend time with Ringo after she had time to eat and changed into his dark blue scrubs before carrying the hammocks out into the room. He handed the hammocks apologetically to one of the assistants and gave them simply instructions on how to clean and dry them before going back into the bathroom to wash his hands.

 

After eating breakfast, Gabriel finally took Ringo out of her cage. The little dumbo rat was moving back and forth at the cage door when Gabriel was getting all the latches off then let the cage door fall forward. Gabriel was barely able to catch the rat as she scampered out to him and she immediately made a beeline up his arm, over his sleeve to snuggle against his neck. He squirmed as he felt the little whiskers brushing up against his neck relentlessly as she sniffed him and crawled around his back to get to his other shoulder. 

 

“Ringo! Stop!” He tried to place a hand on the rat to get it to stop tickling him but she played her usual game of ‘keep away’ as Gabriel realized he was being stared at and recorded through the security camera feed. “You little shit!”

 

A happy chirp came through the speakers in the room and Ringo paused enough from the unnatural sound that Gabriel could grab her. He held her up with both hands securely triumphantly cackling at his win over the rat. “I got you, Ringers!” Gabriel then pulled her back down to his chest to give her an affectionate kiss on the head and stroke her back gently. Fuck everyone else in the room, he missed his rat!

 

Several more happy chirps and trills came through the speakers from 76 and he realized Ringo would tense up every single time. He frowned and tried to reassure the day by petting and talking quietly to her but 76’s vocalization clearly put her on the edge. She knew there was something unnatural about the noises and he was sure the researchers were taking notes on her reactions as well. She wasn't trying to run away so clearly she wasn't that scared, right? 76 wasn't scary at all.

 

He put her back in her cage and locked it up tight, taking the water bottle off to change the water out in the sink for fresh ones. Ringo was hiding in her ‘sleeping’ hammock when he walked over to reattach the water bottle to the cage, frowning as he realized that 76’s vocalizations were upsetting her. He pulled the ‘shade’ cloth down over the cage so she would be more comfortable not seeing anything in the room and hoped she would adjust to her new home. She might not ever meet 76 but she still had to indirectly live with it.

 

“Can you guys turn down the speakers a bit? Or maybe roll Ringo’s cage into the bathroom if she moves around too much when I'm not around? It might be a bit too much for her right now.” 

 

They said they would try but they needed to be able to hear any and all vocalizations both soft and loud in order to study 76. 

 

Gabriel just hoped they would try to move her cage to the bathroom and close the door.

 

\--

 

There were an assortment of ‘enrichment’ toys brought in after Gabriel came back from his lunch break and fed Ringo some fruit slices to her as a treat for staying calm in the bathroom. It was a basketball cart filled with a variety of different colored smooth plastic balls the size of basketballs and he wasn't given any instructions on what to do, if at all. 76 pulled itself over to Gabriel, trilling happily to see him back in the containment cell with it. He smiled warmly at the SCP and took one of the yellow-colored balls to see how it bounced on the ground. 76 didn't react to the noise of the balling hitting the concrete and Gabriel took it as a good sign for now.

 

“You want to play ball, Buddy?” Gabriel asked as he held out the ball towards 76, watching as it brought up a tendril to delicately touch the ball. The tendril slid experimentally over the surface of the ball, making soft squeaky sounds when the tendril slipped by accident. He chuckled in amusement to 76’s exploration of the ball before gently tossing the ball to 76 with strength like one would toss to a toddler, not surprised in the slightest that the ball bounced of the tendrils before rolling to a halt between two tendrils.

 

“Ah. Yeah. Hand-eye coordination must be rough with no eyes, I guess.” He chuckled in embarrassment. “Kind of thought your telepathy would let you see what I’m seeing or something.”

 

76 gathered up the ball with one tendril and presented it back to Gabriel with a pleased purr. He smiled warmly as he took the ball and watched as the tendril unraveled from the ball back to the floor as he held it. 

 

“You like giving the ball back to me? Good to know you’re a team player even though they wouldn't let you on a basketball team.” He laughed.

 

76 made a curious chirp.

 

“Don’t let it get you down now! Kobe and the other Lakers would be without a job if they let you on the court! No one would be able to take the ball from you!”

 

Oh man. He was this lonely that he was having a one-sided conversation with a tentacle monster…

 

Just as he was getting a bit depressed at the idea, the ball was gently knocked out of his hands. A tendril came from under and knocked it upwards into the air a good three feet above Gabe’s head before it hit the concrete and bounced away to the side. 76 made a thrilled trill and wiggled its tendrils back and forth in excitement. A grin spread on Gabriel's lips as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back.

 

“Oh? We got wise guy here, huh?”

 

A curious chirp came from 76 as Gabriel unfolded his arms and took a blue colored ball from the cart. He held the ball out confidently between his hands. 

 

“Try it again, Buddy.”

 

It took a moment but 76 raised a tendril up to try to pop the ball out of Gabe’s hands slowly like before and Gabriel smoothly moved his hands away to the side so the tendril didn't hit anything. Gabriel smirked in amusement.

 

“Oh geez. A little slow there, Buddy! Try again!” Gabriel encouraged sarcastically before holding the ball out again for 76 to hit.

 

This time he didn't even have time to blink before the tendril jolted up and knocked the ball up to the ceiling making it burst from the impact, leaving Gabriel’s jaw on the floor. “Holy shit.” He deadpanned, before looking at the excited mass of tendrils squirming and chirping happily. “Okay. The Lakers might need to put some more thought into this then they thought.” Gabriel chuckled nervously. “Let’s -gently- toss the ball back and forth, alright?”

 

76 purred contently in response and Gabriel swallowed nervously as he drew a green colored ball from the cart. He took a deep breath and gently tossed the ball before flinching, waiting for karma to smite him for teasing a keter-class SCP but he heard a soft ping and the ball bounced harmlessly off his shoulder. Gabriel cracked an eye open and saw 76 wiggling, very pleased as one of its tendrils retrieved the ball before it rolled out of its reach range. He sighed heavily, feeling like he might have sprouted a few gray hairs on his head from how stressful that whole ordeal was. 

 

76 held the green ball in one tendril and gently tossed it back to Gabriel. Letting out an excited trill when Gabriel caught it easily this time. Gabriel felt a little silly for thinking 76 would forget its strength when dealing with him and felt a lopsided grin sprout on his lips slowly as he spun the ball in his hand before tossing it back to 76. It cooed curiously as it caught the ball with two tendrils.

 

“What’s up, Buddy?”

 

76 tossed the ball in a rather clumsy manner with two tendrils instead of one and Gabriel laughed as he leaned out to catch it. It was trying to mimic his throw and couldn't coordinate its tendrils properly.

 

“You’ll get used to it if you keep practicing. I can throw it one handed as well as you can! Look!” He slowly tossed the ball underhand with one hand and 76 trilled in delight as it caught the ball easily with one tendril this time. Gabriel smiled proudly and clapped for his excited SCP roommate.

 

\--

 

Gabriel and Ringo split a bag of snack carrots as he sat on a stood in front of the one-way window and passed Ringo a carrot while she chilled on his shoulder. He was watching one D-rank trying to engage 76 in playing ball like Gabriel did yesterday but the SCP was more interested in trying to sneak a tendril behind the guy’s heels to make him fall on his ass. Obviously the researcher down with the D-rank wasn't saying anything for whatever reason because the guy just kept looking at the tendrils in front of him rather than his surroundings. He wondered if he was giving 76 bad prank ideas as a stress outlet rather than flat out kill those who bug it.

 

Not that much different from him when he actually thought about it…

 

Saying and thinking about killing your incompetent coworkers was different than actually doing it though so he was fine for now.

 

He let out a bark of laughter as the idiot finally tripped backwards and probably pissed himself as he screamed bloody murder while 76 wiggled its tendrils in amusement. Gabriel gave Ringo a carrot in apology for frightening her along with a kiss on the head.

 

\--

 

Gabriel woke up crying in the morning. 76 was vocalizing oddly, trying a variety of cat and cat-sounding noises to calm Gabriel as several tendrils massage his back. He remember Jack, specifically burying him at Arlington Cemetery and the fact that he had to have a closed casket funeral since he was blown apart in the war; stepped on a landmine. He clutched one of the tendrils to himself as he let it out, remembering his therapy. It was okay to be upset and miss someone you loved. He cried for Jack and Josie so hard.

 

“Jack- I didn't-!” He sobbed out as buried his face into the warmth of the tendril nest he was laying in and trying to not hurt 76 by clinging to hard to its flesh. “I miss you so much. Why did you and Josie leave me?” 

 

A soft purr, higher in pitch then the other ones. Josie’s purrs when she was a kitten.

 

76 was digging if it found that sound that he hadn't heard in a long time to try to help make him smile and think of happier times. Happy time with Jack Morrison when they were two stupids who didn't know shit about each other trying to raise a kitten together in secret. Gabriel hiccuped and smiled at those memories.

 

“I know you can read my mind but could I tell you about the world’s cutest kitten and her stupid dads?” Gabriel chuckled in amusement as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffled hard. 76 chirped and Gabriel took that as a ‘yes’ as he got comfortable in the tendril nest, folding his hands over his stomach. “Okay. So, were we in boot camp and I was mister macho ‘don't get in my way or I’ll run you over’ and I hated the guy who would end up marrying me cause he was goody two-shoe.

 

Anyways, we’re in the middle of bootcamp and it was fucking hot as shit. I hear this little meow. The tiniest, raspiest, high pitched meow coming from a toppled planter and me, mister macho, was unable to resist the call for help and took a peek to find this mangy black kitten missing one eye. Of course I had to take it home with me. No real man would leave a starving kitten alone in a fucking heat wave, right?

 

Of course, I never raised a kitten before so I figured mister farm boy from Indiana probably had barn cats and those make kittens, right? I fucking stomped over to him, probably pumping myself too much for the approach cause he was intimidated as shit until I pulled my hands away from my chest to show him the world’s cutest kitten. There was no way he could turn away for a cry of help either cause Jack Morrison was a man, not just a poster boy. He fucking cooed at a mangy one-eyed kitten like it was the most darling thing he had even seen and I was fucking smitten. I didn't know that I adopted a daughter and gained a boyfriend that day but I fucking did. Seduced him by showing my inability to care for it so he took me by the hand and we fucking raised her together.

 

Jack was so good at covering my ass when we got Josie out of the barracks for checks and god knows how many times we were so close to being busted because Josie was a fucking vocal kitten. I’m pretty sure the entire barrack was on our side cause there was time when even Jack couldn't bullshit his way with a perfect smile and someone else would run out the door with Josie in their arms. We revealed Josie during graduation and she got to come on stage with me. I got fucking chewed out but it was so worth it. I was so happy that I asked Jack to be my boyfriend and he fucking said ‘yes’. It’s like I said, I got a daughter and boyfriend in basic.”

 

Gabriel sniffles happily as he remembered the look on Jack’s face when he said ‘yes’ like he had been waiting for one of them to ask the whole time and he beat him to the punch. 

 

“Josie was at our wedding a few years later. Prettiest princess in the whole world with a gorgeous green ribbon on her neck to match her eye as I carried her down the aisle while Jack waited at the end. Some couples exchange rings, I fucking handed him Josie and we kissed the cat on the head before kissing each other. Jack’s mom blew a blood vessel in her eye for our screwing around but it all worked out so well. You should have seen the wedding photos. We’re not cat freaks but Josie was special to us, you know? She deserved to be part of the ceremony even if she couldn't join us at the reception.” 

 

He felt so much better talking even though he didn't want the asshole upstairs and their bosses to hear his personal story time to 76. The SCP was quiet the whole time and Gabriel tried to recall the images as clearly as he could so 76 had a clear picture to look at before he moved on. He hoped 76 could understand what he was saying better with his memories supporting his words, wanting and needing someone to connect with. 

 

Gabriel wanted 76 to understand him better.

 

“I know it’s a lot to process at once but it makes me happy to know you want me to feel better, Buddy. Ringo is my baby but… Yeah.” He sighed heavily as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. 

 

76 cooed softly, a lower-pitched sound that definitely did not sound like a cat. It’s own vocals rather than it trying to sooth him with sounds of Josie? Gabriel sighed with a smile on his lips and snuggled into the tendrils that wrapped around him tenderly to keep him warm. 

 

“I really hope that you genuinely like me and that you’re not just trying to trick me. I just- I really like being with you too. It sucks that I can’t go back home but home is here now, right? Even if I was able to leave, they would wipe my memory of this place and I wouldn’t remember how nice you were to me.” He then paused and shifted uncomfortably. “I’m really- I just- You stopped when you could have easily done what you wanted to me that day we met. You’ve honestly never tried to hurt me or even acted aggressive towards me. Now, you just-”

 

He took a deep breath before sighing, feeling a tendril rub his upper back gently. “Thank you for not killing anyone while I’m upstairs even though every honestly expects that behavior from you. You won’t ever be able to leave but you can have friends if you continue to play nice and improve. You won’t have to be lonely and neither will I. But I want you to connect with people too, in a positive way. Kind of like how I wanted Jack still to have and meet new guy friends when we started dating. Maybe it’s too much to ask since you barely tolerate them, Buddy. Pulling pranks are frowned on but it’s a million times better than killing, alright?”

 

A soft, bubbly grunt came from 76 and Gabriel hoped that was a ‘yes’.

 

“I’ll be pissed if you kill anyone who isn’t trying to kill you, understand? Keeping you clean is hard enough and no one will want to be friends with you if you kill them. Simple enough to understand, right?”

 

Another bubbly grunt but slightly higher pitched now.

 

“If that’s a ‘no’ then I’ll be angry with you. I’m warning you right now, Buddy.” Gabriel huffed in annoyance, especially when 76 felt it would be funny to plop a tendril on the side of his face, making him think of heavy bread down being dropped on him. “Har har.” He responded dryly, drawing a pleased purr from 76.

 

What a nerd.

 

\--

 

A month passes and they have a normal routine. 76 never even attempted a containment breach when the bulkhead door was left open for an entire hour without Gabriel’s knowledge as he played on his portable game console upstairs; it was a test that was approved by one of the higher ups on the board, he found out later. There was definitely no attempts to reclassify him since 76 was always a threat to humans even if he wasn’t interested in instigating anything unprovoked. It DID bruise up one of the researchers who tried to climb up into the tendril nest after Gabriel climbed out of it with Gabriel supervising. Basically, 76 plucked the researcher of it as he climbed by the back of his labcoat and slid him like a bowling ball across the concrete into the wall ‘lightly’. No broken bones or anything. 

 

Gabriel resisted laughing and scolded 76 for throwing the researcher, encouraging it to just drop the researcher next time if they do something like that again.

 

This time though, Gabriel asked for something privately from the lead researcher when he went up for his dinner time break, bringing him into the bathroom so they could talk without being listened in to (for that moment anyways). He found it odd that he was easily handed the item in question from the man and it made Gabriel double guess his choices as he sat to eat dinner with Ringo on his shoulder. 

 

Gabriel was starting to open up to the idea of being ‘opened’ up by 76. He hadn’t been comfortable enough to even think of an even mild sexual thought for a while since he didn’t want to encourage 76, not since his first encounter almost- He shook the thoughts from his head. 76 stopped immediately when he told it to stop. It only got as far as stroking the inside of his thigh with one tendril and he had all of his clothes still on, undamaged. Gabriel understood now that 76 wasn’t even remotely interested in hurting Gabriel but he wasn’t quite sure if he wouldn’t mind exploring that avenue with the SCP now that he knew it better.

 

He was more uncomfortable with the thoughts that they would be watched and recorded, especially since the lead researcher just tossed him several packs of sterile lubricant without a thought on what he planned to do with it. The motherfucker had to know that Gabriel would get sexually curious at some point, especially with all the weird tentacle porn on the internet. The lubricant was also some kind of special shit from the instructions on the back of the packet, supposedly like a stronger hand sanitizer that needed to be in contact with the surface of whatever for a full minute and still be good to do it’s job. Hypo-allgenic as well, it claimed. Gabriel almost laughed as he tucked it into his pocket and gently took Ringo off his shoulder to give her a kiss on the head before putting her back in her cage. He pulled the nightshade blanket over her cage and locked up his stuff in the safe before following one of the researchers out of the observation deck.

 

Gabriel climbed up into the tendril nest 76 arranged for him, purring happily to see Gabriel return to it once more. The lights in the containment cell dimmed a bit more than usual and the classical piano music started playing lightly through the speakers in the chamber. 76 waited for Gabriel to get comfortable, shifting its tendrils where Gabriel pressed so it companion. It made a curious chirp when Gabriel did not roll onto his belly like he usually did when he wanted to sleep. The tenders that folded over him for warmth hesitated for a moment and Gabriel sighed, feeling foolish about the whole thing before rolling over onto his stomach. He didn’t want to worry 76 with his fucked up feelings.

 

He nuzzled the side of his face down against the tendrils and hummed softly as he felt the tendrils above him fold over to rest lightly down his form to keep him warm. 76 made a soft, low-pitched, purr, not using any cat-sounding noises this time. Gabriel was slightly confused when the tendrils over his back lifted and the ones under him parted so other ones could thread under and gently rolled him onto his back. 

 

“Um. Something going on, Buddy?” Gabriel whispered softly to 76, not wanting the security camera speakers to catch the uncertainty of his voice since he knew he was still safe. A tendril slipped into his pocket and pulled out one of the packets of lubricant, making Gabriel feel a flush creep onto his cheeks. He swallowed hard from seeing the packet held out in front of him and lifted a hand up so 76 could drop it into his hand. The heels of Gabe’s feet gently slid as he felt himself conflicted with the situation. “Listen, Buddy, we don’t- Just because I had a passing thought or two doesn’t mean we have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

 

76 rubbed Gabriel’s with the tips of several tendrils down the length of his back, none going farther than his lower waist as it continued to make the low-purring sounding. Gabriel let his arms drop to his sides and sighed as he felt himself melt from how good it felt. “Like. I don’t mind if you really want to but I just want you to know you’re not obligated.” He whispered softly to 76, appreciating the way more tendrils were coming up to cover the usual cocoon 76 made for him when he slept for privacy but still remembering to leave little gaps for air flow. “I just want you to know that I’ll still like you even if you say ‘no’, okay?”

 

A few tendrils that were massaging his back gently toyed with the hem of his shirt, making Gabriel nip his lower lip. The SCP could easily strip him and have its way with him but it was asking for permission the way it was gently tugging on the fabric. He handed the lubricant packet to the tendril that took it out of his pocket earlier, watching for a moment to see it lightly curl around the packet before he reached down and pulled his scrub top off. “Please touch me, 76.” Gabriel whimpered softly and watched as another tendril dragged the shirt away before curling around it, still very much in the cocoon to not expose what they were doing for the researchers.

 

Two tendrils continued to massage Gabriel’s back while the other ones began exploring Gabriel’s upper body. 76 was purring rather noticably when Gabriel sucked in a breath as as tendril rolled over his nipple piercing. His face was flushed deeply from embarrassment by being so sensitive to just casual contact with the hardening buds. He had studs in place of actual piercings since he didn’t wear any rings while he was at work, not that he wore them much anyways since he could only mingle with Foundation workers and he wasn’t remotely interested in that. Gabriel licked his lips as he wonder if 76 would enjoy having the rings to toy with as two tendrils massaged his pectorals in slow circles, making him moan softly.

 

How long had it been since he had sex anyways? Clearly long enough that he wanted to get it on with a tentacle SCP, he guessed in amusement.

 

The tips of two tendrils gently came up from behind to smoothly run their way up the back of his neck before roaming over his scalp. He was kind of glad he was passing up on cutting his short hair because damn it felt really good to feel them explore and gently wrap around small clumps to pull on them, drawing a moan from Gabriel. Gabe quickly brought his hand to cover his mouth and groan softly at making noise for those sick fucks upstairs to hear. He didn’t want to give them any satisfaction.

 

A tendril gently roamed up from under his elbow, coiling loosely around his wrist to pull it away from his mouth. Gabriel gently pulled back, embarrassed about enjoying this with 76 until he heard pop near his head. 76 squeezed the pack of lube it was holding for Gabriel over a group of tendril tips gathered together and felt his cock move from how arousing it was to watch it squeeze the packet to spread the lubricant over the tips. They all then moved over each other to spread it effectively over the lengths, twisting to cover all sides of the tendril tips before spreading out to let the disinfectant do it’s job.

 

Gabe thought it was kind of weird to disinfect six tips but the gestured greatly reassured him that 76 found the information and wanted to be a good partner, at least that was what he assumed. He reached down and kicked his pants off, two packets of lubricant falling onto the tendrils Gabe was laying on but quickly picked up by an idle tendril that was not part of the disinfectant group while another pulled his pants away for safekeeping. Two tendrils came over from under his legs to start rubbing his cold feet, making Gabriel lay his head back against the nest and sigh contently. Having a partner that could read your mind had its benefits in these kinds of situations. He thought that 76 would be excited to rub on his legs but it only touched his feet to warm them for the minute they had to wait.

 

Maybe it still had hesitation over their first interaction because 76 wasn't purring as loud as it was earlier. 

 

Gabriel took a deep breath and swallowed his nerves. He wanted this.

 

His free hand, that wasn’t being held onto by a tendril, ran down the front of his body sensually, and he shifted from how nice it felt before skipping the tent in his boxers to grope his thick thigh. Gabriel had a great ass and pair of legs; Jack impulsively thigh fucked him enough to give him that impression. So, Gabriel made a show of massaging and kneading his calf muscles, licking his lips and whimpering the SCP’s numbers softly. He grew harder in his boxers thinking about Jack and the blissful look on his face when he crushed the blonde’s cheeks between his thighs before he ate him out.

 

A tendril bravely came out and lightly massaged Gabriel’s ankle with its tip but the purring completely ceased. Gabriel frowned for a moment before bringing his free hand off his thigh to pat the tendril nest he laid on. “It’s okay. I'm not mad or disappointed. I want you to do what you feel comfortable doing.” He smiled reassuringly, letting 76 know that he was being honest about his feelings even though it could read his mind. 

 

76 let out a soft coo and retracted all the tendril, laying his clothing back on him. Guess it changed its mind halfway through. Gabriel pulled his clothing back on and took the extra lubricant packets from then tendril holding before tucking them back into his pocket. There was a lot of shifting around the tendril nest as 76 readjusted back into a comfortable recline and Gabriel rolled onto his side, ignoring the dull throbbing of his cock as he got comfortable as well. He wasn't going to touch himself out of respect for 76 since it was kind of awkward right now as it is for both of them. 

 

At least this blew the whole ‘naughty tentacle’ porn thing out of the water, in a way. 

 

\--

 

Gabriel woke up to the sounds of 76 growling viciously and his body being hugged almost uncomfortably tight against the core. He couldn't see shit much less move to see what was bothering 76. A heavy slap of one of 76’s tendrils to concrete followed by another other-worldly hiss sprung Gabriel into action as he tried to wiggle out of the cocoon.

 

“What's going on, Buddy?” Gabriel whispered to it, trying to push the tendrils off him as they continued to coil and keep him covered. He could hear voices being muffled by the tendrils in his way and saw occasional glances of white of the walls while they continued to move. The lights were on and certainly not the red of the containment breach alarms going off either. They had to still be in the containment cell.

 

Maybe he slept in too long and they came in to check up on him?

 

“Hello?!” Gabriel yelled, getting a tendril slapped over his mouth for his troubles and felt it wrap securely around his head as the voices went quiet. 

 

Okay. He just woke up. 76 was distraught but not actively killing anyone (as far as he knew), it can read minds and he can't. It felt the need to keep him quiet as well. It never did anything to stop him from leaving or interacting with the researchers before so what was different right now? Was the facility under attack and 76 wasn't attacking because it hadn't been attacked yet?

 

“It seems awfully docile for a keter-class doesn't it?” A voice spoke, clearly human as far as Gabriel could tell.

 

“The other voice is more pronounce. It is actively listening to us while SCP-7600 is uncertain of how it should classify this unit; if I am ‘docile’ or an enemy. Curious classification labels.” A clearly robotic voice spoke. “Ah. The human component of SCP-7600 is unable to move or speak vocally due to the threat I present.” It spoke in amusement.

 

“Yes. SCP-7600 is very protective of its human companion.”

 

“Quite. It has also calmed down considerably when Gabriel Reyes woke up. It was thrown off by its human attempt vocal communication when it was trying to drive us out of the containment cell. Tired humans are more prone to instinct reactions rather than thinking their actions through?”

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes at that assessment but did note that 76 indeed was more calm since it was not vocalizing or thrashing about.

 

“SCP-7600 is showing remarkable restraint for a keter-class. I'm not sure of that is do to encouragement from Gabriel Reyes or if other factors were involved in that choice; it’s mind is rather cloudy on that bit from what I can make of it.”

 

Okay. Robot that can read minds. Likely a safe-class of SCP.

 

“Indeed. You are correct. I am not a bipedal robot that you are imagining though, Gabriel Reyes. As for our friend here, I believe it to be more of a truculent-class than keter considering everything the researchers have learned of it. The fact that it is hyper focused on your comfort and survival over hunting down humans says a lot about it.”

 

That’s great but doesn’t help me out in the slightest, Buddy. Why is it hyper focused on me anyways? It’s killed many people before being captured and contained. Why me?

 

“It knows you. To be correct, it has been trying to locate you with its call and killed in frustration when the wrong voice answers.”

 

A tendril slams down hard on the cement floor, rattling something steel sounding. Likely an intentional near-miss. The robot is quiet; considering its words more carefully due to this lash out? Gabriel frowned and lightly dug his heel into the tendril that was supporting his feet.

 

Don’t be a fucking asshole, 76. You read my mind everyday so why can’t I learn more about you from someone that can read your own mind? You think it’s invasive? Boo fucking hoo. Deal with it. Now then, Mister Robot, could you please tell me how an SCP knows about me before I knew about it?

 

“Perhaps if I was at a distance where my demise would not be eminent then I would gladly tell you my theories, Gabriel Reyes. I wish not to take the risk driving our friend’s patience here. Perhaps you have other questions I may answer that are not risky?” It asks politely, driving Gabriel to scowl under the tendril covering the lower half of his face and drive his heel harder into the tendril under his foot. What he wouldn’t give to boots on at this moment so he could more than tickle the SCP being a giant pain in his ass right now. Time to get creative with his questions.

 

What were its feelings the moment SCP-7600 met me on xx-xx-xxxx?

 

“Ah. Quite interesting, actually! I’ll describe it the best I can with as much accuracy as possible.” The robot happily spoke. 76 wasn’t moving or growling, so hopefully that was close to consenting to the probe. “The whistle in reply drowns out the screams of those it tears up. Eyes that were once closed begin to open. The sound of a cat lightly trotting on a wooden floor in the middle of the night. Relief. There is no blood. No valhalla. It most quickly to follow the sound through cold hallways dragging itself where it could finally do so. He stands there. Shivering. Cold? Trembling like it? A blossom of happiness warms its body as they touch. ‘Stop!’ Fear. Ugly. Tears. Not joy. Misinterpreted. No recognition. Sadness but understanding. It is lead back through the blood and gore it created but he comes with. There is peace when the door shuts.”

 

Gabriel closes his eyes and slowly lifts the pressure he was placing on the tendril under his heel so his feet were just resting on it like normal. It was a lot to take in and dissect. ‘Recognition’, ‘sound of a cat walking’, ‘happiness’, ‘understanding’. It knows Gabriel and thought it knew him too in that moment.

 

Does SCP-7600 know my cat? Does it know Josie?

 

“You have described this ‘Josie’ at one other point and it is difficult to tell from the memories if the cat it referenced in the first encounter is the same. Interpreting is not something I wish to do unless I am one hundred percent certain due to the ugly fallout that could occur if I read it incorrectly. It was why I was contained in the first place at the Foundation.”

 

So, how do you receive the memories? Are they like pictures or videos playing back?

 

“I wish to stay on topic for the sake of our friend here who is practicing enormous amounts of restraint to keep from lashing out. If these are all your questions you have for today, I would think it best we resume chatting when our friend is in higher spirits.”

 

One last one then, Mister Robot. Does SCP-7600 love me?

 

“It has. Much longer than it thinks it has anyways. Your bond would be difficult to construct with another but not impossible, if you find it burdensome.”

 

Thank you.

 

“I do hope to have a chat with you personally next time, Gabriel Reyes. Speaking to each other is a lot easier on the processors than interpreting two beings’ minds so close to each other.”

 

The sounds of a loud diesel engine come to life along with the humming of vents as a truck or something beeps loudly as it is placed into reverse. There are several voices talking, mostly passing instructions as the vehicle pulls away with whatever the SCP was that he was talking to. Gabriel is curious but understands that 76 wants to keep him safe above all else so he silently consents to being held by it. The sound of the engine and voices fades over the sounds of the steel doors closing along with the ventilation system sucking up any harmful exhaust that it might have left behind in the containment chamber.

 

Tendrils slowly unwind after the doors are sealed and Gabriel is gently set down back into his tendril nest. 76 loves him and has for a long time. Something oddly feels right about that and wrong at the same time. He adored the SCP too and nuzzled up to the tendril that was cupping the side of his face so tenderly.

 

“I’m not going to leave you behind again.” He murmured softly.


End file.
